Cyprus wakes up to stormy weather

Paphos residents woke up to heavy rainfall on Thursday, as the Cyprus Met Office issued a yellow warning for thunderstorms until late afternoon.

There was flash flooding in Paphos as the heavens opened while the wet weather was expected to reach other towns later in the day.

Weather observer, Eric Kitas of KitasWeather, said his service recorded 45 mm of rain in just one hour.

“This is almost as much as the Paphos district sees in the whole of November,” said Kitas.

He said the weather system was recorded moving eastwards, with rain affecting Limassol at around 10.30 am.

“By noon, the whole island should be under the effect of the system,” said Kitas.

Hailstorms could accompany thunderstorms, while temperatures on Thursday will reach a maximum of 22 degrees Celsius inland and, on the coast, 13°C in the highest mountains.

However, Thursday’s lower temperatures compared to previous days and heavy rainfall are not to be taken to indicate the weather becoming more wintery.

Kitas said maximum temperatures in the coming days would rise well above 21°C, the average temperature for the season.

“By Sunday, temperatures will reach 27°C, with some areas in Nicosia seeing temperatures come close to 29°C.”

High dust levels are also expected to return early next week.

Kitas said that Cyprus would probably see more rain during the first weeks of December.

On Thursday night, temperatures will drop to around 11°C inland, 13°C on the coast and around 5°C in the higher mountains.